SaRaGuRo

Looking out over Saraguro from our hotel.

We had another great weekend trip this weekend! Bright and early Saturday morning we left for Saraguro, another city 3 hours south of Cuenca. The bus got to CEDEI at 7:15 am which meant we had to leave our house at 6:30 am to walk there in time. That was definitely too early of a start since I am obviously not a morning person but it was worth it. It was cloudy and rainy on our trip to Saraguro so we weren’t able to see any of the pretty landscape on the way but it allowed time to catch a few zzzz’s.

Us girls before the hike through more of the Andes.

When we arrived in Saraguro we dropped our stuff off in our hotel and proceeded to get on a local bus-type thing to continue our trip for the day. I wasn’t sure what to expect when they said we were riding on another vehicle but I was not expecting an old, rickety, wooden bus with benches and only railings for the sides. It kind of reminded of a wooden version of a duck from the Dells but older and more rickety. It was a very bumpy ride on skinny, windy gravel roads. We road for just about 45 minutes to another, more indigenous community where we were able to look at a typical adobe house. The house was one layer with just two rooms, a smaller room for the kitchen with the fire and a slightly larger room for the rest of the house. There was only one small bed made of wood with a small woven mat to make it softer where all of the members of the family sleep together. It crazy to think how little they have (all of which they make themselves) but how willing they are to share whatever they have with others. I feel very blessed for the house I live in and the lifestyle that I live.

The vehicle that we got to ride on throught the mountains.
 Brand new, right?

A look at one of the beds they sleep on. You can
see a little bit of the weaved mat that is supposed
to make it softer. Ouch.

From there we continued hiking through the mountains through crazy terrain to another special place for the indigenous people. We once again hiked on very small, skinny paths that were right along very steep edges with many crazy climbs up and down along the way. I love the hiking here! We ended at a place where we were surrounded by mountains where the people go for energy (if I remember right). We all got together and screamed as loud as we could and the echo was awesome. They do it three times in a row to receive energy. It was really neat.

Hiking through the mountains

After hiking back we got to try a traditional drink which is the beginning of tequila. There is a special ritual way of drinking it with a special toast before it. They made a huge clay pot full of the drink and our group was required to either finish it or bottle it up otherwise we would no longer be welcome back. It was a very strong drink and it ferments in your stomach so watch out if you drink too much of it! It was pretty yummy though actually, even though it looked kind of gross. We passed around a special type of glass and finished all of the drink. Then it was time to head back on the vehicle and head back to Saraguro for a quick nap before dinner.

Our guides and our director pouring the drink.

That evening we headed to a place where people do weaving to make all of the textiles in the area which was very interesting to see. They make all of the machines they use out of wood and it amazes me how they do it. We got to see a demonstration of a man working on one of the machines but I would have loved to have seen how they strategically place all of the thread to create the amazing patterns and such they create. I can’t even imagine the time and care that goes into creating these beautiful textiles.

The man making ponchos on their machine. It's crazy
how it works!

Then it was off to supper and live music at a restaurant right next to the weaving building. We had a very good meal with soup, a main dish, and dessert and then it was time for the live music. It was great listening to them play with all of the different instruments. We danced along with them and we even got to try out some of the instruments. The fall semester students were along on the trip with us again so they made a little band and tried to be all serious but then us Whitewater girls got up there and cranked out an amazing rendition of “Old MacDonald.” It was pretty amazing! J Gotta love Early Childhood educators!

"...And on his farm he had a cow. EIEIO"

It got super cold at night compared to how nice it had been all day long; well, maybe not compared to Wisconsin but compared to the weather earlier in the day! Haha Sometimes I forget that not everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather we experience here on a daily basis. I slept in lots of layers to stay warm, though.

Our crew at the hotel

The next morning we were supposed to go to a waterfall to participate in a cleansing ceremony but the area is experiencing a drought so there was no water in the waterfall, just rock. We instead had the ceremony in an open field in the mountains. The ceremony was lead by Shamans, who are healers. People go to Shamans before doctors here to become healed. The person leading the ceremony was asking Earth for energy and we had to look in each of the cardinal directions during different parts of the ceremony. It was very neat to experience something like this that is such a part of their culture in this part of Ecuador. We got to talk to the people and take pictures afterwards.

The whole group with the Shaman after the ceremony

One more stop before heading out of Saraguro; the market! There was tons of beaded jewelry and I found my fair share of it! J We haven’t seen anything like some of what they had so we couldn’t pass it up. They had lots of beaded jewelry that was very pretty. I just love experiencing different markets, especially on Sundays when more people are around in their traditional clothing.

After shopping we headed to a restaurant for a traditional almuerzo (lunch) featuring the one and only, cuy! Don’t worry, we all got our own little section of the guinea pig with teeth, claws, and hair all included. I was lucky enough to get a hind leg with lots of hair still attached to it; it was rather disturbing, I’m not gonna lie. I couldn’t be in Ecuador and not take the opportunity to try it when it is placed in front of me. It was kind of chewy but the flavor wasn’t that bad; the getting the meat off the bones was the worst part for me. One tiny bite was definitely enough for me to be content.

Lunch anyone?!?!

My portion of the cuy. Look closely and you'll see some
of the delicious hair on it. Eww!

With our piece of cuy, ready to taste it. We were a little
nervous if you can't tell.

And we are chewing...not sure what to think. Just the
thought of it was too much for me, if you can't tell
by the facial expressions. haha

We headed home from there and it was much clearer out so we were able to appreciate the scenery when we weren’t napping. It was a great weekend during which I got to have so many cultural experiences. I loved taking it all in. Now I’m just over halfway done with my time here. I can’t believe that I will be home in less time than I have been in Ecuador for. There is still so much that we want to experience here so we better get busy! J I miss everyone back home though and can’t wait to see everyone! Love you all!! Hasta luego!